When is Easter 2024?
This year Easter 2024 falls on Sunday, March 31st. Discover all you need to know about Easter 2024 with answers to your top questions surrounding the most important Catholic feast on the calendar. At Catholic Answers we get a lot of questions about Easter season ranging across all these topics:
What is the significance of Easter in the Catholic faith, especially in 2024?
The annual celebration of Easter holds profound significance for Catholics as it commemorates Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil. It celebrates once again the paschal sacrifice of Calvary, which culminated in the everlasting glory in the heavenly sanctuary.
In addition, catechumens (converts under instruction) transition from death to new life in Christ through the sacrament of baptism, “the gateway to the Christian life,” while they and others are welcomed into full communion with the Church, partaking as one Christ’s body and blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist (1 Cor. 10:14–22; see John 6:51–58).
Easter in the Catholic faith offers renewed hope for Catholics and those receiving the sacrament of baptism, aligning with Easter’s theme of resurrection and spiritual rebirth. Converts are baptized and welcomed into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil mass.
Download our free eBook: Is Baptism Really necessary for Salvation?
Why celebrate Easter?
Some wonder whether Easter is a Pagan Holiday. Learn the real reason why Catholics celebrate Easter, in contrast to what you may have seen on social media.
Church services celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Whether you want to know if the Easter vigil fulfills your Sunday obligation, or simply want to find a parish church near you for Easter Mass, we have you covered.
Holy week consisting of several days, including Palm Sunday after the Paschal full moon
Want to understand what the Paschal full moon has to do with Easter? Read our quick Q & A.
All things from Ash Wednesday to Easter
What is Lent? When does Lent End? And, why can’t I eat meat on Fridays during Lent? How is Holy Week observed, and what are the various days and services included in this sacred period? Get all the information in the Catholic Answers Guide to Lent.
The significance of Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday
Waving palm branches and joyfully crying “Hosanna!” The significance of Jesus entering Jerusalem links back all the way to the Feast of Tabernacles. Learn all about the meaning of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Sanctus) prayed at every Mass—and more.
Palm Sunday
This podcast episode explains how on Palm Sunday Jesus fulfills the prophecy:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Lo, your king comes to you . . . humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass” (Zech. 9:9; cf. Matt. 21:5).
Want more on the meaning of Palm Sunday?
Good Friday commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus
This day of all days each year focuses especially on the Cross and Jesus’s redemptive sacrifice on our behalf. For greater understanding of the events of Good Friday, watch this video and learn more about the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
What theological insights does Catholicism offer regarding the solemn observance of Good Friday and the remembrance of Jesus’s crucifixion and death?
God so loved the world, the whole world. Gain deep theological insights about Good Friday rooted in Scripture.
John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”
Moveable feasts and why Easter falls on a different day every year
How does the date of Easter vary each year, and what factors influence its falling on a different day? Christmas day is always December 25. So, why does Easter fall on a different day every year?
The Easter Bunny OR the Easter Rabbit
What role does the Easter Bunny play in modern Catholic Easter celebrations? Catholics often are criticized for practices or traditions with seemingly pagan roots. The Easter bunny and Easter often come under scrutiny for this reason. Learn to defend the Easter bunny. It’s easier than you think.
Colored eggs, and Easter egg hunts
What’s the background for some of the popular traditions Catholics observe during the Easter season, including Easter egg hunts and the blessing of colored eggs?
The Catholic Encyclopedia explains the following:
Because the use of eggs was [once] forbidden during Lent, they were brought to the table on Easter Day, colored red to symbolize the Easter joy. This custom is found not only in the Latin but also in the Oriental Churches. The symbolic meaning of a new creation of mankind by Jesus risen from the dead was probably an invention of later times. The custom may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring. Easter eggs, the children are told, come from Rome with the bells which on Thursday go to Rome and return Saturday morning. The sponsors in some countries give Easter eggs to their god-children. Colored eggs are used by children at Easter in a sort of game which consists in testing the strength of the shells (Kraus, Real-Encyklopadie, s.v. Ei). Both colored and uncolored eggs are used in some parts of the United States for this game, known as “egg-picking”. Another practice is the “egg-rolling” by children on Easter Monday on the lawn of the White House in Washington.
Eastern Orthodox Easter
The dispute on when to celebrate Easter sadly continues to divide the Catholic Church and Orthodox Christians. Learn more about why Eastern Orthodox Easter falls on a different day.
Additional Resources
Interested in becoming Catholic? Here’s our free guide on How to Become a Catholic.
Download our free printable PDF Bible Sheet on Infant Baptism: Where is that in the Bible?
